FAQEverything you need to know


  1. Is this an online event?

    We don't like online hackathons, so this is an in person event and it is required that every team member is present on sight for fairness.

  2. What is a Hackathon?

    In general a Hackathon is a social coding event that brings together computer programmers like software developers, graphic designers and user interface specialists along with industry process experts and professionals to identify issues and create software solutions within 24 hours.

  3. Who can participate?

    Everybody is welcome and can apply. No matter if you are an entrepreneur, a professional or a student. You don’t have to be a programmer and you certainly don’t need to have a degree in Computer Science! Specifically, we are looking for hackers, coders, makers but also for innovators, engineers, creative people, designers, data geeks and startups. Because our challenges are not only limited to programming! We will nevertheless hand select the participants and tell you on July 7th latest if you are invited to participate.

  4. How can I get involved?

    Go ahead and visit the Hackathon page and book your place. Have another question that didn’t get answered here - send us an email or participate in our slack group Hackathon Community!

  5. What is in for me?

    Learning new skills, looks good on your CV, networking, winning cash prizes, working as a team, meet great people, have great food and having fun!

  6. How are the winners selected?

    There will be a technical check (for fairness) and an independent Jury selecting the winners with a rating system: (Creativity, innocation, impact, presentation)

  7. Who will be judging?

    The judge panel composition will be announced closer to the date of the hackathon.

  8. How many people should a Team be?

    A team should be between 2-5 people, if you don’t have a team yet you can still apply because you will have the chance to join a team onsight.

  9. What are the costs of participating?

    FREE. Free for spectators. Free for participants.

  10. Is there reimbursement for travel?

    We cannot give travel reimbursements, we are sorry.

  11. Do we sign up as individuals or as a team?

    You can sign up as an individual or as a team. If you sign up as an individual, the CodingAustria team will put you with a group beforehand and you can communicate on the Hackathon’s Slack page Hackathon Community

  12. Is the hackathon open to anyone?

    Application is open to anyone over the age of 16, if you can participate will be decided by the coding austria organisation team.

  13. Will there be wireless internet access?

    Yes, there will be.

  14. Can we use any programming language?

    Yes. Nocode Tools are also welcome, anything that does the job.

  15. What should I bring?

    Bring your laptops, mobile phones, Kinects, Leap Motions, wearable computing devices, to whatever inspires you or you want to work with. If you want to stay overnight a sleeping bag makes sense.

  16. Is there support available?

    The environment at the Hackathon is designed specifically to encourage everyone to have fun and help each other. If you’re ever stuck on anything, speak to a CodingAustria team member who might be able to help. Team mates and other participants are on hand too, as this is a collaborative environment.

  17. What if I don’t know anybody there?

    Dont worry - you will find your team right there. Beforehand the best way to get to know people is to set up a team atHackathon Community and see who is around.

  18. Are there any online platforms where I could share my ideas prior to the event?

    Yes. Join: Hackathon Community There all our hackathon participants organise their team conversations and keep them private if needed.

  19. Will there be food?

    Yes, food and beverages will be provided throughout the event - this is something we will spend our budget on! We have a personal cook hacking together some dishes for us. It is summer so cool drinks will be available at any time.

  20. I have a question or concern what should I do?

    Contact us. Don’t be shy! We are here to help and create a great atmosphere.

  21. What is the Program/Timetable?

    Please check the agenda on the home page, small changes might occur.

  22. Where will the Hackathon take place?

    The Hackathon will take place at the RUBICON Office in the Center of Vienna. The exact address is Gonzagagasse 16, 1010 Vienna, Austria. You can travel to Vienna by plane, train, blablacar. There are parking garages nearby if you come by car.

  23. Can i also join remotely?

    No, we want this hackathon to be an onsite event so remotely joining as well as working with a remote team is not allowed.

  24. Do all team members need to be present in person?

    Yes, every team member should be present. If a team member cannot be present during the pitch or can only come later please tell us and we will find a way to manage! This is not an online event.

  25. Can I only participate in one challenge?

    You will have to select your preferred challenge, if you can combine challenges you can but you still get judged by the criteria for the single challenge.

  26. When do i get the data information needed?

    We will send you additional information beforehand and contact you before the hackathon. Before you apply please make sure that you have time on the particular weekend and your colleagues have time as well. We will call you and check additional questions with you if necessary. More information on slack: Hackathon Community

  27. When do I get more information on the use case?

    We will provide additional information about the use case directly at the hackathon event to ensure fairness, so preparation is not necessary. If you are a startup working on that particular use case you are very welcome to join, but still you have to create all the code and system at the hackathon, the presentation of something you have already done is not the idea.

  28. Who is keeping the intellectual property of my solution?

    The team that develops the project is the owner of the intellectual property and project. We do encourage making the code open source or sharing of code with others in the community, but it is not required to participate in the event. Before the Presentations our technical team will do a quick technical check to make sure that you created your project at the hackathon. You are allowed to use open source libraries, your own libraries etc. to develop your solution!

  29. What about confidentiality of information?

    If you don’t want to distribute your code base that is ok, if you don’t want to present your project, then a hackathon might not be the ideal place for you to work on that idea. We will take photos at the event and you will sign a document that allows us to use those pictures for social media and the web. So if you don’t want to be on any pictures please tell us beforehand!

  30. What is the cancelation policy?

    It is a bummer if you cancel before and you will cause us a lot of work, but there are many reasons why cancellation can happen. So please apply only if you are certain that you want to participate and be committed to come to save us a lot of work!

  31. How about the accomodation?

    You can sleep on sight, it will be semi comfortable but if you are a flexibler sleeper it will be fine. It is a hackathon, so when you need your own bathroom you need to book a hostel, hotel or airbnb at your own cost.

  32. What is the problem we will be hacking to solve?

    Details of the business problem will be announced on the day of the event.

  33. Are we allowed to use third party components like open source libraries etc. to implement a solution - are there limitations on component licensing?

    You can use any software, provided these are declared in the presentation and are being used lawfully i.e. under licence.

  34. Is there a Code of Conduct?

    You can find our Code of Conduct here: Code of Conduct

  35. I have another question that is not answered in your FAQs, what should I do?

    Please and us the question and we will update this list so that everybody profits from the answer. You can use the slack channel for that: Hackathon Community